Boulder City Council on Tuesday passed on emergency an ordinance aimed at bringing more transparency to local elections.

Their unanimous vote was meant to expedite changes so they would be in place in time for this year‘s election.

night, both of which stemmed from a working group formed after the 2017 election — a response to many on the council and in the community feeling some issue and candidate committees violated the spirit of transparency during the campaign season.

“Contribution limits help make sure that elected officials are not beholden just to a handful of wealthy donors,” senior assistant city attorney Luis Toro told council. “Disclosure and reporting laws make the right to vote meaningful by making sure that voters are well informed when they go to the polls.”

The ordinance passed Tuesday expands the definition of “express advocacy,” language approved in a 1976 Supreme Court case that triggers disclosure requirements and refers to ads that clearly support or oppose an election outcome while using a set of specific terms, such as “vote for,” “support,” “defeat” and “reject.”

“The working group wanted to address the issue of advertising techniques that were designed to avoid regulation under the existing code,” Toro said.

It also added a definition of electioneering communication, meaning communication that refers to a candidate during an election cycle but does not necessarily meet the criteria of express advocacy that will now trigger disclosure requirements.

The ordinance also requires that candidates who participate in the city‘s matching funds program only accept funds from people, rather corporations or other entities, and sets a new expenditure limit of $20,740 that will be adjusted for inflation every two years.

It also sets disclosure and reporting requirements, and outlines compliance and enforcement. The city clerk will handle enforcement, and the system will remain complaint-driven. There are four possible outcomes in response to a complaint, and complaint and final decisions of the clerk will be made public unless there are extenuating circumstances.

“The proposed ordinance would allow the city clerk to make final determinations on complaints public even when the determination is that there‘s no probable cause,” Toro said. “This can help candidates clear their name.”

Much of council‘s discussion focused on clarifying under what circumstances a final determination would be made public.

An amendment added Tuesday said the determination shall be made public except in cases in which the release would interfere with pending litigation or criminal prosecution or threaten the safety of the person.

“This closes loopholes, and this really brings us to the 21st century of election integrity,” working group member Matt Benjamin said during the public hearing. “It also brings us in parity with a lot of our sister cities and communities around the country.”

Council did not vote on a second ordinance that would have allowed for petition circulators to collect signatures for initiatives, referenda and recalls using a device rather than paper. The use of a device, such as an iPad, would allow for the immediate verification of the voter‘s current registration, according to a city memo.

City staff had been working with Denver to license the city‘s software, but told council on Tuesday it would cost $21,000 initially and $1,500 a year for ongoing licensing.

Several people during the public hearing expressed disappointment about the device proposal rather than a fully online system.

Some council members said the cost was too high for what would be an intermediate step in implementing Measure 2G, which voters approved last year, and which allowed for fully online petitions

“Doing something temporarily, for one year, that might not even be used, is a distraction,” Councilman Sam Weaver said.

Council, with input from City Manager Jane Brautigam, ultimately decided to request that staff take about six weeks to figure out a timeline and work plan to help them better understand the issues at play before they issue a public request for information and later a request for proposal.